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Replies | Post Reply | Shakespeare Queries From Genuinely Interested Students 3.15.97: Top | Help
Acually, you are very close to the criteria for a tragic hero that the Greeks came up with.Here are the two Greek criteria for a tragic hero:
1. A tragic hero will hold a high position -- this is so the hero has a lot to lose!
2. The hero will be destroyed by one (and usually only one) fatal character flaw. (For Macbeth, it's ambition. For Creon in Socrates' "Antigone", it's pride.)
Shakespeare, like most other playwrights, has continued to abide by this definition. For example, Macbeth's fatal flaw is a lust for power. (I know that's debatable, but what about "Macbeth" *isn't* debatable?) I would say that Lear's fatal flaw would be arrogance -- look how he treats Cordelia at the beginning of the play!
The insanity and transformation parts of your query aren't technically a part of the definition for a tragic hero, but they often fit right in. For example, Lear recognizes the error of his previous ways (although too late to prevent Cordelia's death -- one of the cruelest in all Shakespeare.) .
I'm just a layman shooting from the hip here, but perhaps some of this can help get your creative juices going. (It also impresses people if they think you read Greek theater! ;) )
Posted by Rogue on March 31, 1997 at 13:32:01
In Reply to "Characteristics of a Shakespearean Tragic Hero?" posted by Bee on March 30, 1997 at 20:09:54
Replies | Post Reply | Shakespeare Queries From Genuinely Interested Students 3.15.97: Top | Help